Penetrating Darkness
by Blue Obsidian Butterfly
Summary: Annie vanishes during an extraction and when the CIA start searching for her strange things start to come to light. Nothing is as it seems and they are racing against the clock to get her back safely but with dead ends around every corner how are they going to find her? And even if they do will she still be the same person she was?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. Can I have it? *Puppy dog eyes***

**A/N: Keep in mind that I know nothing about pretty much everything in this story so…yeah.**

Penetrating Darkness

Chapter 1-Into the Dark

"Hey Walker, how's the weather?" Auggie asked as the call connected.

"Sunny, warm, nice actually" Annie replied, looking behind her as she made her way through the crowded marketplace, heels clicking against the uneven paved stones as she went.

"But?" He replied, hearing the trepidation behind her words.

"Ok before I say anything more this is not my fault" she replied, increasing her pace as she felt a pair of eyes burning into her.

"Ok Annie, no-one said it is" He couldn't decide whether she was joking or not but given the chatter of voices in the background that was definitely not the hotel room she was meant to be in he went for the safe approach.

"When I got back to the hotel"

"Back from where?" He asked, cutting her off.

"Lunch but that's not the point. So I got back and there was a shadow in the window of my room"

"Shadow as in?"

"Human shaped"

"Ah"

"Yeah and now he is kinda after me"

"Description?"

"Big, muscular, shaved head, Mexican features oh and did I mention big?"

"Yeah, you might have. Where are you now?"

She did a quick sweep of the area busting with stalls and people many of whom carried bags looking for any landmarks but found none.

"Somewhere in a marketplace" she replied.

"Ok, I'll do a quick search for places like that near the hotel, in the meantime you want an extraction?" he asked.

"That would be nice"

"Ok, got you. Can you see the ocean?"

"Gimme a sec" She did another sweep, this time looking for her attacker but found nothing. At least that was one good thing about the size of him, he was not exactly inconspicuous.

"Can't see it but I can smell the salt, it can't be far"

"Follow your nose Walker, when you get there a fishing trawler should be there, I've cleared you to get on. They leave in about ten minutes so be quick"

"Ok, thanks Aug"

* * *

That had been two weeks ago. Auggie hadn't heard from Annie since the call and she had never made it onto the boat. A search of the area turned up nothing besides a trashed hotel room, no fingerprints and no witnesses. Joan wasn't sure when, or even if Auggie had slept since the call. He was terrified of losing her, she could see it in his unseeing chocolate-brown eyes every time someone said her name.

She had lost count of the number of times that she had told him to go home, they had people on the ground there was nothing more he could do but each time he steadily refused, his efforts growing more and more desperate as time went on. It was a losing battle though, they had nothing to go on but he had to do something, she understood that so she left him be, bringing him food in an effort to at least keep him healthy. At first he had refused to eat and Joan had been given no choice other than to play the guilt card so that's what she did, saying that it is what Annie would want. He had locked himself in the bathroom for an hour after that but afterwards, puffy eyed he had come out, sat down and ate without so much as a glance in her direction.

Shaking herself out of the memory as Jai knocked on the door she muttered a come in and he stood in front of her desk, his appearance scruffier than the last time she saw him. At least he had gotten some sleep, she mused seeing the lessened circles below his eyes.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The director of the FBI just got back to us" he replied.

"And?" she asked when he hesitated.

"They know about as much as we do" he replied sighing and running his hand through his already messed-up hair.

"Damn" she said. They had been hoping the federal agency, which had more experience with missing persons than what they did would be able to dig something up. She couldn't remember the agency losing an operative as fast, or for that matter as unexpectedly as they had Annie. There had to be something else going on but they were running out of places to look and they were out of time. If Annie had been captured they were likely too late, a possibility she didn't want to consider but could no longer ignore. If they got Annie back there was a chance that she would be burned or worse, turned. But she was strong, one of the strongest operatives Joan had seen and she held out hope that they would find her. They just had to turn over the right rock, talk to the right person and they would find her.

* * *

Hey eyes blinked open but apart from her even breathing she didn't move. There was no light but she had come to expect the overwhelming darkness, taking it as a sign of things to come. The surface beneath her was flat and hard, likely a cement floor. Her body was numb and she didn't bother trying to move, what was the point? She had already paced the length of what she had determined was a 10x10 cell. It wasn't the jail cell she had been expecting, rather it was more like a hospital room, one with nothing but a small panel of glass on the door. She wouldn't be surprised if it had once housed mental patients, a huge dilemma for her as it made escape pretty much impossible. What scared her the most though was the fact that she had no idea how she got there. One minute she had been making her way towards the glimpse of blue sea she had caught sight of between two buildings and the next she had woken up here, wherever that was. She hadn't heard a single set of footsteps or voices, nothing but deathly silence, it was like the place was completely empty.

* * *

"Come on" Auggie mumbled, hitting the keys harder than necessary as he willed the electronics in front of him to give him the answers he desired. The computer gave a whirl of protest and blurted out streams of data, which to anyone but him were incomprehensible. But the stream of data it presented were exactly what he was looking for: only slightly illegally obtained documents from the US embassy or more specifically flight records to Indonesia. Stu was hovering over his shoulder looking at passport photos trying to identify the Mexican that Annie had seen.

"Wait, stop" he said, causing a jolt of hope to shoot through Auggie.

"You see him?" he asked. Sometimes his blindness could be incredibly frustrating.

"I think so" he replied uncertainly. "I mean it's a big, tough looking Mexican guy."

"Get Joan" he said and Stu hustled out of tech ops.

An hour and a half later they had a name and satellite footage of him in Indonesia, unfortunately not from the market but it was something. The ground team were conducting a grid by grid search starting from the area of his last known whereabouts. The Indonesian authorities had been of little help but a little persuasion on Joan's part had convinced them to lend some manpower to the search.

"Report" Joan stated through the comm. The static buzzed for a moment before a crackly voice replied "Nothing so far but we have a lot of ground to cover yet."

"Ok, keep searching" she replied.

"Joan, are you sure about this?" Jai, who was standing next to her watching over the screen in front of them, which showed all the current information they had on their Mexican asked.

"Sure about what Jai?" she replied.

"All this manpower going into finding an American tourist, they must be suspicious" he said.

"Getting Annie home safely is more important"

Another crackle of static interrupted their conversation and all the heartbeats in the room seemed to stop at once as the comm announced "We've got him, closing in now."

"Be careful, we need him alive if we hope to find Annie" she replied into the device. They collectively held their breaths as they waited. The seconds ticked by, slowly turning into minutes until at last the comm buzzed again, announcing the news they had all been hoping for: they had the man.

* * *

The interrogation stretched into most of the night, the man refusing to do anything except sit as still as a statue, that was until he was offered a large and entirely false bribe in exchange for Annie's location. It was an abandoned mental facility in the very outskirts of a small farming town, the perfect place for interrogating a prisoner. It took Auggie all of five minutes to dig up and send the team a floor plan.

Tactical planning was done en route and by the time the team got there they had a basic sweeping strategy and orders to shoot anyone who wasn't Annie. They set up a heat-sensing camera outside but it showed nothing. They remained optimistic, putting it down to the walls being too thick for it to penetrate. As they entered breathing became slow and measured, each tact-team member poised to shoot at any given moment. They swept the lower level floor by floor. Paint was peeling off the dirt-washed walls and doors were broken, rubbish strewn everywhere. By the time the team had searched the whole building they had nothing.

"She's not here" the leader, a big, muscular ex-navy seal announced grimly through the comm.

"Is there any way you missed something?" Joan asked.

"We searched it top to bottom, nada" he replied.

"Ok, head back to base until we find more" she said.

"Wait" Auggie shouted, shooting up out of his chair. Joan started at him curiously but gave the order to the team that they remain there.

"Top to bottom that's it" he said.

"What's it?" Jai asked, startled by his sudden outburst.

"It's a mental health facility, right?"

"I don't follow" Joan said.

"So it wouldn't be surprising if they had some kind of hidden basement right? You know, somewhere to keep the real nutcases" he replied.

Joan's eyes widened as she told the team what to look for. Fifteen minutes later they found a hidden door behind a supply closet and they cautiously fanned out along the creaky old staircase as they made their way down.

It was pitch black and torchlight was the only illumination they had. The beams cast shadows across several heavy-duty steal doors. Only one was closed, the glass panel on top covered in a thick layer of grime.

"Break it down" Mark, the leader of the team ordered. Dust covered them, seemingly coming from all directions as the metal gave way with an enormous creek. As they entered the light swept over a form strewn on the floor. Mark kneeled down next to her, shifting her hair aside to feel for a pulse. It was there but the woman was freezing. He draped his coat over her and gently nudged her awake.

"Annie?" He asked when her eyelids fluttered.

She coughed and he repeated the name, gently easing her up.

"Who?" she asked in a croaky voice.

* * *

"We've got conformation Auggie, It's not her" Joan said, putting a gentle hand on his back as a sign of comfort. Following the initial confusion the team pulled the woman out and in the light it was clear she was not Annie.

"Why did he take her then?" He asked, voice cracking slightly.

"She said that she was running from something and a woman told her to go to the fishing trawler" she replied.

"Was it her?" he asked.

"It must have been. They haven't gotten much out of the woman, she has severe hypothermia and she's still in shock."

"Did she say what her name was?"

"That's the strange thing, she doesn't seem to know"

"Amnesia?"

"Must be, what other explanation could there be?"

"I've got a bad feeling about this Joan, something isn't right"

"And whatever it is Annie is in the middle of it"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer still applies *hint***

**A/N: My email has decided to screw with me and send all my FF messages to spam even though it never used to *Glares* Go figure. I have thrown a fit at it and now it seems to be agreeing with me again. If any of you have PM me or I was reviewing your story and I have missed chapters could you please let me know.**

**Also I think I should mention that this story is set sometime in season 1 or 2. You probably got that from the appearance of Jai in the last chapter but just in case.**

**Final thing: I think this story is going to turn into science-fiction, are you all ok with that or would you prefer I kept it real to CA?**

Chapter 2-Behind the Darkness

With no new leads until the mystery woman recovered Joan sent everyone home. Convincing Auggie hadn't been easy and in the end she had threatened to fire him if he didn't (not that she would have but thankfully he was too exhausted to call her bluff.) They all needed to rest and recover, it would do them good. Perhaps they would find something previously overlooked when they came back fresh. With a sigh and final glance at her office Joan turned off the light and closed the door with a soft thunk.

* * *

The cup hit the wall, glass shattering instantly with a deathly cracking sound but Auggie ignored it. Anger was simmering through his entire body but behind it was a hopeless sense of despair that was growing with every moment she was out there, threatening to erupt. He refused to let it, holding onto the anger for as long as he could. The last time he had felt this helpless had been after the accident and he couldn't go back to that dark place inside of him, he knew that if he did there was no turning back. With a final cry of defeat he let his body collapse, barely feeling the impact where his head connected with the ground. The tears slowly leaked out of his eyes, only one thought running through his head: Annie. He couldn't lose her, he wouldn't survive the loss.

"_Hey Annie" he said as the clicking of heels stopped beside his desk, the sweet smell of grapefruit wafting through his senses._

"_Hey yourself" she replied, the desk creaking ever so slightly as she perched on what he had come to think of as her spot. A second or so later the smell of her sweet perfume was overridden by his second favourite scent: coffee. _

"_Coffee?" he asked, already knowing the answer even before the warmth of the cup brushed the back of his hand._

"_It's just the cafeteria stuff" she said but he shook his head._

"_Coffee is coffee" _especially when it comes from Annie _he added in his head._

"_True" she replied, her voice taking on a teasing edge and he tilted his head in question._

"_You don't smile like that every time someone brings you coffee" she said. _Damn, he was so busted.

"_Only the hot ones" He replied._

"_I didn't know you liked Jai that much" she said, causing him to almost spit out his mouthful of coffee._

"_You know what I mean" he said, voice slightly croaky._

"_Teasing you is just so much fun through" she replied. He could hear the smile in her voice and could almost imagine the way her eyes lit up. _

_He tilted his head in confusion as he felt a cold wind rush past him, taking with it her delicious sent. It swirled around him and he felt himself standing, something dry crunching under his feet. Its icy fingers brushed straight through his clothes onto his skin as he called out for Annie but there was no reply, not that he could hear much over the roar of the wind. It seemed to be increasing, whipping into him from all directions. Then he heard it, she called out to him, sounding terrified and he called back desperately but the voice faded into nothing._

_He was alone. _

His eyelids felt heavy as he struggled with them against the pounding in his head. Reality came shattering back and he groaned when he remembered that he had fallen and probably hit his head. He couldn't bring himself to care much though and it was only the thought of finding Annie that convinced him to get up. He went through the motions of getting ready mechanically, his mind only catching up when he locked the door on his way out. It was still only early but he was determined to get back to finding her.

* * *

Meanwhile Joan's night had been equally restless, although it was without the nightmares that had plagued Auggie. She knew that he was right, something else was going on here, something far more dangerous than just espionage. People just didn't disappear like that but how do you find something when you don't know what you're looking for? The few clues they had led to more questions and there was little hope that it would unravel anytime soon. With a sigh she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, mentally preparing herself for the long day ahead.

The first part of the day was uneventful having been spent going over what little they had in the hope that something would shake loose. Many of the team had grown increasingly frustrated as they yielded no results and Auggie snapping at everyone who so much as went within a metre of him didn't help. The tension in the room was thick, almost suffocating but simmering underneath it was worry. Everyone wanted to see Annie return safely but they had passed the 48 hour threshold and it was becoming less and less likely. Joan almost smiled at the thought of what Annie would say to that. There was no way any of them were giving up on her.

* * *

Pain. Darkness. Nothing.

It all continued in an endless cycle, streaming through her subconscious. The nightmares felt all too real although she had no idea what they meant or even if they meant anything. She remembered the pain though, crisp and sharp as it tore through her body, never settling in the one place. It was white hot and relentlessly searing at every nerve ending. It was all there was: pain and darkness, pain and darkness. It had taken her a long time to realise that the darkness was in fact her eyelids, which had slammed shut as the first waves of pain hit although the area beyond didn't hold much light, it was more like a dreary glow. It beamed off something metallic but her vision was blurred with tears and she couldn't make out more than a fuzzy greyish shape. And then it would happen: the black figure would stand in front of her and look down, watching on as the pain increased, burning her alive as her body fought to stay conscious. Eventually it would all fade into nothing and she relished those few painless moments.

* * *

"Oh come on!" Auggie shouted, giving the computer a firm rap with his fist as the results, or rather lack of filled the screen in front of him. He had been running the Mexican thug's (as Stu had dubbed him) phone records looking at the texts an anonymous sender named Jon Doe had sent him, which was very original he had added sarcastically when he first heard it. The phone was a burner, untraceable and there was nothing to identify the sender within the messages, it was just a photo and set of instructions to grab the girl and lock her in the basement level of the facility. The only thing it proved was that they knew about the basement but given how quickly he had figured it out he doubted that it really meant anything.

"You ok boss?" Stu asked, approaching him cautiously as if he would attack.

"Yes" he snapped harshly in reply. _Yep_, Stu thought, _dangerous territory: approach with caution._

"Is there anything I can do?" he said in what he hoped was a soothing tone.

"Find Annie" came the reply, slightly less harsh this time around.

"We all want to find Annie but running yourself ragged isn't going to help" he said gently, easing closer to his boss.

"What else am I supposed to do?" he snapped. Stu flinched and pulled back. He weighed his next words carefully in his head and decided that he needed to hear them.

"Is this what Annie would want?" he said, preparing himself for the onslaught that was bound to follow.

He exploded, three days of nothing but worry and fear consuming him emanated out in a single moment.

"Don't talk about her like she's not coming back, I will find her, I WILL!" he shouted before pushing past Stu and bolting out of the room. Stu sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. This is what he had been before his accident, actually it was worse. The only one who had ever been able to break him out of the dark moods was Annie and with her gone….well she wasn't the only one missing.

* * *

The end of the day came and went, no-one really noticing the light fading to darkness outside. A whole day gone and they had nothing. Tempers had reached boiling point as frustration escalated. No-one was willing to go anywhere near Auggie, the Tech-God was positively seething. Joan sighed as she watched him furiously banging away at the computer keys.

"He can't seem to accept it" Stu said as he came to stand beside her.

"I wish there was something we could do for him" she replied, her voice soft and tired. She was the only one willing to brave Auggie and Stu commended her for it.

"Only Annie can help him now" he replied.

"He's going to end up breaking down" Joan said, a hint of regret in her voice. She wanted to help him but she didn't see how. There was no point in giving him a different assignment, he was going to try and find Annie regardless. And she wasn't sure keeping him away from this was the right thing to do.

"All we can do is try" Stu replied sadly, giving her a small smile before he walked away.

"Sometimes trying just isn't enough" she mumbled, casting a glance at his hunched over figure, the artificial light from the screen casting shadows across his face and deepening the dark circles there. Despite his foul mood he looked small and alone, like a lost little boy. No-one had helped her but perhaps she could help him. And that started with finding Annie.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Guess what, still applies.**

**A/N: I am sooooooooooo sorry this is so late, I feel incredibly bad. My excuse? End of year exams but really there is no excuse. I wrote a series of drabbles to get into the habit of updating quicker and yet I am back where I started -_- **

Chapter 3- Deeper Into the Dark

The room was dark and imposing, dust assaulting her senses as she swung open the door, creaking slightly on its hinges. It was messy and un-kept inside with files, boxes and paper strewn in half-hazard piles on every available surface around the room. Once upon a time the room had housed several members of various departments, an 'interdepartmental area' as it were. This had lasted about three months before a mole had been discovered and not only had he managed to gather Intel from his own department but also the others who were housed there. It was then abolished and it had been used as a storeroom ever since. The files ranged from simple Intel years old and irrelevant to details of ops that took the highest levels of clearance to view. She didn't know quite what she was looking for but she had to start somewhere so with a sigh she grabbed a pile of papers off an office chair, dusted it off, sat down and began to read.

* * *

Stu glanced into tech ops as he passed by, checking on his boss as he had made a habit of doing every hour or so. Nothing much had changed, he was still hunched over his computer, furiously typing away. The only illumination came from the screen and it cast shadows over his pale, almost opaque face. He would need to eat soon so Stu made a detour to the cafeteria to grab a sandwich for his boss. He returned, placing the food on the desk wordlessly next to Auggie before backing away, mumbling "dinner boss" as he made his way out of tech ops. He glanced over his shoulder and saw, regretfully that the food sat untouched and ignored. He could almost hear Annie, smiling to himself as he imagined her clicking her way into tech ops in those god-knows-how-many dollar heels that everyone in the office loved. She would scold him for not eating before dragging him away to get dinner, matching smiles on their faces. Annie could get anyone to smile, no matter their mood. She had even done that to Joan once on a particularly bad day, he had always wondered how she did it. He smiled and shook the image away, even now she still managed to get him to smile.

* * *

Auggie rested his head in his palm as the computer spit out more negative results. He still had nothing, less than nothing actually and his eyes were threatening to slide shut. He was tired and he knew he needed to sleep but the knowledge was distant, as if he were in a dream. He could almost hear her voice in his head, all smooth and sweet tones as she told him to go home and get some sleep as she had done so many times in the past. God he missed the sound of her voice, the way she would playfully whisper things in his ear, things that meant nothing but the feeling of her soft breath on his ear as she said them, like they were a big secret the two of them were sharing sending shivers down his spine.

He didn't notice the moment his eyelids growing heavy, giving into the urge to close as his head slid from his palm, slowly coming to rest against the desk. His head was foggy, thoughts slow and not all together making sense. This dream was different though, he couldn't discern exactly why but there was something about that felt all too real. When he woke up an hour later, sweat pouring off his forehead, a headache pounding against his skull the only thing he could remember was that it was somehow important.

* * *

Joan placed the file on the stack, a confused expression finding its way onto her face. That was the second one now, a pattern beginning to form in her mind as she pondered the contents and what exactly they meant. She blindly reached for another file, reading over the first sentence twice before the words registered in her head. The pattern was beginning to take shape and with renewed energy she started to skim over more files, looking for the same thing. Not two files later she found what she was looking for.

* * *

"Got something" she said, files stacked in hand as she pushed open the door to tech ops. His head shot up as his sightless brown eyes found her form with uncanny ability.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'm not quite sure" she replied, coming to a stop next to him as she placed the files down, opening them and placing the papers in order. He listened to the sound of the papers shuffling with interest.

"Three more cases so far" she said.

"Wait, more cases as in…" he trailed off, the hope shining in his features and Joan was glad that this had paid off, having been such a long shot to begin with.

"Missing operatives" she confirmed, nodding despite the fact that he couldn't see it.

"And they all just disappeared?" he asked.

"Exactly like Annie. The dates span over several decades, whatever this is it has been going on for a long time" she replied.

"But you said there were only three cases?" he replied, confused.

"So far but I have barely made a dent in the paperwork. I'll get some more manpower to go through the storage area looking for any similarities in and around the time they disappeared as well as more incidents, meanwhile I need you to look into these three" she said.

"Is it possible our mystery woman is one of these missing agents?" he asked.

"We're going to find out" she replied.

* * *

Eleven hours later found the office cleared out and 7 confirmed as well as another four possible cases had been found. Apparently the agency had covered it up and to say Joan was mad about it would be a gross understatement hence the reason she was now standing at the head of a meeting table in a room full of politicians and bureaucrats (her husband included) trying to find out exactly why that was. She doubted she would get a straight answer, that's if she even got one to begin with but that wasn't the point. She wanted to let whoever had covered this up know that she was on to them, damn anyone who stood in her way. In all the cases that they had found so far there was no trace of the missing operatives but she was determined to not let that be Annie, she was not just some file sitting forgotten in a dirty old storage room and neither were any of the others. She was going to find out what happened, deliver the news that families had been waiting years to hear and nothing would stand in her way.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is shorter than the others, it just felt right to end it here. The next update will be no later than a week and don't let me forget it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Why do I even bother? Yep, that's right still applies. Let's just say it applies to the whole story and be done with it.**

**A/N: Wow, look at this. Could it be? Yep, an actual update. On time. **

**I just wanted to clarify that I previously mentioned perhaps taking this into the sci-fi category and I got a mixed response. One of the concerns was that it would be hard to understand. I have decided to go with this as it is where all my ideas are heading however it will not be too in-depth or out-there-ish (I don't want to give too much away.) **

Chapter 4- Light in the Dark

The office was bustling with movement, each one akin to a synchronised rhythm unique to the space around, a form of order amongst the chaos. Joan could remember countless times when the office had been this busy, fear of terrorist attack and war the beat that was keeping everyone moving however this time, unlike those previously there was a distinct air of purpose to the movements, hope a chorus that shyly shone through amongst the seemingly unorganised chaos around. Everyone seemed to be moving with renewed vigour because for once they had a lead, solid and tangible that had the hope of leading somewhere.

As if on some kind of cosmic cue Stu rounded the corner, narrowly missing bumping into her in his haste. He looked even more dishevelled than the last time she had seen him yet she couldn't help notice the hope that had spread around the office shining brightly through his eyes, lighting up his whole face and somehow covering the dark circles under his eyes, wiping away the worn and sorrowful look. She gave him an encouraging smile and he all but bounced up and down, announcing in-between heavy breaths "Got something."

Her heart leapt a little in her chest and she wouldn't be surprised if that same look of hope had found its way onto her face. She followed Stu, dodging various people and objects as they made their way to Tech Ops, unknowingly becoming a part of the rhythm of the DPD.

"Joan" Auggie said, sliding his headphones off as he heard the distinct sound of her heels, similar to Annie's although slightly lighter and with a distinct air of authority clicking into what he and many others had come to think of as his area.

"What is it?" she asked. He swore he could hear a note of hope in her voice but then again that could merely be his own shining through.

"We were going through the files you gave us when Stu spotted something. Samantha, the last operative to disappear before Annie went astray on her last mission shortly before she vanished. Others describe her as acting erratically, becoming increasingly paranoid. She said that someone was following her, she was certain of it."

"And she wasn't the only one" Stu added on when Auggie paused to take a breath. Joan couldn't help the light smile that graced her lips at the thought of how in sync they had become. It was like a circuit though and it wasn't complete without Annie.

"At least three of the others have been described as acting the same way shortly before they were taken" he said.

"But Annie never said anything about being followed" Joan questioned. She was hoping against all hope that this was the break they had been so desperately searching for.

"Not directly but she did mention just after she arrived that something felt off, she couldn't put her finger on exactly what though" he replied, sounding regretful.

"That sounds like something" she said, "see if you can find anything on the person who was following them."

"I don't need to, this is where Stu comes in" he replied, unseeing eyes travelling in the direction of said operative as Auggie gave him a small smile before continuing "we were going through the files looking for exactly that when we, and by we I mean Stu found an unmarked photo loose in Samantha's file."

"She got a picture?" Joan asked is disbelief.

"We're not one hundred percent sure but we think so. The thing is we think she hid it in her own file on purpose. She must have suspected someone close to her was involved"

"Find out who" she said despite fact that she knew for well they were already onto it. She needed to keep some sense of authority around here.

"You want this kept in-house?" Auggie asked.

"As much as I would like that we need to see if the mystery woman can identify the man in this photo. She's still in Indonesia, right?"

"Yes, she's being treated for a low level concussion and amnesia at a hospital nearby" Stu said as a far-away look passed across Auggie's face.

"What if we bring her here?" he asked, "That way no-one but us need to know about the photo."

Joan smiled, he never ceased to amaze her sometimes.

"Make it happen" she said, sparing only a second to watch the look of triumph cross his face before she walked out. It was about time her husband lended a hand in this.

* * *

"Arthur" she said, not waiting for an invitation as she strode purposefully into his office, bypassing the protesting young woman who had the unfortunate job of being his secretary. Really she should be used to this by now but after 2 months of working for Arthur the 5 foot something young honey-blond had not taken the hint. She wouldn't be surprised if her time was nearly up, after all the husband and wife team were notorious for driving assistants away with their constant arguments. It somehow worked for them though, holding the fragile relationship together despite its rather destructive nature.

"Yes Joan" he replied, barely missing a beat in this little dance of theirs.

"I need a complete list of everyone who was involved with Samantha Amil before her disappearance" she stated firmly. "Don't even" she snapped, holding up a hand as the word classified left his lips. After all they had already been through they finally had a solid lead and there was no way she would let anyone get in the way of her finding Annie. At some point the woman had become somewhat of a little sister to her, abet a free-spirited one. But that is the kind of thing that made a family and once the precarious little bond was made anything would be done to protect it.

"Joan I did you a favour by calling that meeting which cost me a lot and nothing came out of it. With the pressure I am already under I can't risk it, I'm sorry." He replied, a hint of sorrow hidden under the low tones of his voice. Part of her was aware that she was being unfair to him however a larger part, one that had filled with anger the moment he said that the meeting was a lost cause despite her many assistances that it was strictly necessary in uncovering the culprit of the cover-up wanted nothing more to scream at him. She chose a point in-between, not quite yelling but not exactly speaking in the nicest of ways as she said exactly why the list was important-minus the part about the photo- and why it was absolutely necessary to getting Annie back. It was a similar thing that she had done when she had first requested the meeting and Arthur had (naturally) said no.

Once she was done he sighed and, reading the emotions on his face before the words even left his mouth she thanked him and walked out, a little less dramatically than the way she had come in. She would have the list within the hour and it would only take a day at most to interview those on it, providing she had the manpower which, by some miracle she did.

* * *

Work had been non-stop for the past few hours. While others had been rushing around on various tasks and errands Auggie had remained glued to his desk, computer running on overdrive as plans were made to fly the mystery woman who, until she regained her memory had been named Jane-Doe quietly into DC. Once those were in place and thoroughly evaluated he had then began the meticulous task of digging into the missing operative's lives and in particular Samantha's. She lived with her mother and was recruited straight out of college. Since then she had steadily raised up the rankings until she made her way to a field operative status. Had the circumstances allowed it she may have even been friends with Annie.

The mere thought of her name was enough to tug at his already fragile heart. Countless memories surfaced, forcing their way to the forefront of his mind and one in particular stood out. A couple of weeks ago Annie had showed up out of the blue on his doorstep on his day off, movie and snacks in hand saying cheekily "Hey you, I haven't seen you all morning, I have popcorn." He had smiled and laughed before ushering her in. He didn't remember much of the movie, he doubted he could even say what it was called but he definitely remembered her laugh, a light, crystal clear musical sound as they chatted about nothing and everything. Somewhere along the line he had said something that resulted in a piece of popcorn being tossed at him. He had narrowed his eyes in her direction subtly saying _game on_ and the resulting popcorn war that, while being a nightmare to clean up had been one of the most enjoyable things he had done all year. He didn't notice the moment when his eyelids slid closed, slowly fading into unconsciousness. His head met the desk with a soft thud as the memory faded away, replaced by undiscernible dreams as the exhaustion from the past couple of days caught up to him.

The sensation prickled along his spine and tingled at his nerves, slowly pushing its way into his dreams. Somewhere in his sleep-clouded mind it triggered the memory of his previously forgotten dream and along with it the feeling of importance. His dream slowly changed from the unrecognisable chaos that made up a good proportion of his dreams to a swirl of emotional memories all with one common factor: Annie.

The foggy feeling of dreaming faded once again into a sensation of realness that somehow remained disconnected from reality, two things that should always go hand in hand. There were no images, there never where in his dreams, bar the occasional moment of waking where he could swear he saw the early light of dawn yet there was….something about it. Something about the sensations shooting through his body almost as if they were trying to find their way to him. The sensation increased slightly, bubbling beneath the surface of his skin yet somehow it wasn't uncomfortable or in any way unpleasant. It held an air of safety about it, comfort and familiarity that he couldn't quite pinpoint the cause of. As quickly as it had appeared it subsided, slowly fading once again into the recesses of his dreams.

**A/N: You know what would make me update quicker? Yep, that's right reviews. I know you all probably get sick of constantly being asked for them but they only take a second and really brighten a young author's crappy week ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Yes I know, it's late AGAIN. Given my track record this is pretty good though. Thank-you to all of you for sticking with me.**

**This chapter is dedicated to all of you :)**

Chapter 5- Depths of the Dark

The clouds glided by as the jet made a sharp right hand turn angling into the runway. There were few people on board; one Jane (as people had started calling her, a polite version of Jane Doe) had come to think of as her security guard. He was a large, well muscled man presumable from some branch of American Government not that she really knew for sure given the fact that he had never actually said anything. He just stood menacingly on the edge of a room, or back row of a hired jet in this case firearm firmly attached to his hip. At first he had scared her somewhat, after all he was a stranger with a gun but he always kept his distance and she had gradually become accustomed to him.

The other man on the plane was some form of Government agent, she was pretty sure CIA was mentioned but they had made sure to keep all conversations well out of her earshot. He had explained to her, in a thick American accent that she was being taken back to the states (she had often wondered during her daydreaming in the hospital whether that was where she had come from) in order to help them find a missing person. She had blindly agreed, not entirely sure she was being given a choice. In hindsight it probably wasn't the greatest idea; after all she had no memory so how exactly was she supposed to do that? In the back of her mind she often wondered if she had something to do with it, that would explain why they were bringing her back and the added security but she had been careful to keep her mouth shut about it, not entirely sure she could handle it if that turned out to be true. In other, half dreamy moments she wondered if it was all a big Government conspiracy and they had purposefully wiped her mind but upon full alertness she quickly realised how absurd that sounded.

She felt rather than saw the smooth decent of the jet as they glided down, the runway gradually becoming closer. She could see a few almost ant like specks that slowly formed the shape of people as they grew in size. They were in a cluster near presumably where the jet would set down. While she had no physical memory of aeroplanes, flights or fancy jets such as this one it felt rather comfortable and oddly familiar, leading her to the conclusion that this was not her first flight. The jet jarred slightly as the wheels made contact with the runway. She was hit with a rush of cool air upon stepping out of the plane. It was chilly but not overly cold, a welcome relief from the humidity of the Indonesian weather. The small group huddled on the tarmac made their way over to her. They were all very polished and official looking, perhaps CIA wasn't far off she thought as they approached her.

* * *

After brief introductions were made she was lead into a building (Langley as they had informed her) through what appeared to be a side entrance. She could hear a large amount of movement but they passed no-one as the unusual group made their way into the DPD. She was led into a room filled with various electronics, some of which looked like regular computers but there were strange additions to them, some form of Government tech she assumed. She was shown a series of photos by the one who had introduced himself as Jai, a reasonably good looking guy about the same age as her. One was of a blonde woman and the other a brunette woman. There were other photos of women on the board to but they only showed her the two, asking if they meant anything to her. She shook her head, wondering if this was some sort of twisted serial killer case. The last photo they showed her was of a man. Something tickled the back of her mind as she studied it but after several moments it became apparent to her that the memory was not going to surface so she shook her head again. As they moved to motion her out she said, in a somewhat timid voice

"Do you know anything about me? Who I am?"

The look in their eyes softened, in particular the cute one she had noticed before but although he had smiled at her he had yet to make eye contact. 'Auggie' he had said his name was. It was kind of strange but no stranger than the rest of this situation.

The blond woman sighed and she felt what little hope she had harboured dissipate.

"No, sorry" she replied, giving her an apologetic smile, which Jane tried to return although it was barely a lift of the corners of her lips. She was led out and into another room, where a makeshift bed had been set up, piled onto a bench chair.

"This is our break room, it's not the best but I have taken many powernaps here and it's oddly comfortable" Auggie said as they entered. Jane absentmindedly nodded as she gazed around the small yet cosy looking room.

"I will be in there if you need anything" he said, indicating the general area of where they had come from. "In the mean time we'll leave you to get settled."

"Thanks" she responded as sincerely as she could manage as they made their way out of the room. Once she was alone she sighed and gazed at the pile of blankets and pillows roughly formed into the shape of a bed. She might as well make herself comfy she figured as she crawled under them.

* * *

Joan was careful to gently close the break room door as they left Jane Doe to get some rest.

"Damn" Auggie mumbled as they entered Tech Ops.

"You can't expect everything to all happen at once" Joan replied although there was a hint of uncertainty to her voice. If Jane Doe really knew who the man in the photo was and she had in fact been a missing operative (even though they had found no trace of her in the files) then wouldn't the photo have triggered the memory? The doctors said there was no way of knowing, especially since she seemed to understand and recognise most of the things around her despite having no memory of them. They had still hoped for a better outcome than this though.

"What now?" he asked. She could hear the frustration in his voice but all the energy seemed to have left him. He looked deflated.

"The only thing we can do is keep searching for information on Samantha, someone had to have known something" she replied, gently patting his shoulder in reassurance.

* * *

Sleep eluded her for a long time before slumber took her and even then it was futile. The photo had triggered something inside her, a fear that up until now she didn't know existed. Tiny fragments of memory made their way into her dreams, mixing into them until they felt almost real. She was running, her lungs burned and her feet ached yet she barely felt it, the need to get away the only thing that truly mattered. The forest was think and dark, the air heavy and hot as she breathed it in. Her feet were bare, twigs and rocks cutting small slices into them sending jolts of pain up her leg yet still she ran. She didn't notice the moment the ground beneath her disappeared, she only noticed the falling sensation. Faster and faster she fell, the world around her disappearing into oblivion and just when she thought she couldn't go any further there was the light, a singular moment of clarity filled with the razor sharp edges of knowledge and in that pinnacle step nothing else mattered except this moment. The trepidation, anxiety, confusion, despair that had previously encompassed her slipped away, being replaced by the power that this moment gave her, this new knowledge she otherwise would not have dared to dream possible but it was and oh was it ever so magnificent. In that one defining moment she became whole again, her shattered being replaced and renewed because now _she remembered_.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by with little luck. They had what could almost be considered a complete biography on Samantha's life but nothing remotely helpful in finding Annie. Auggie's frustration had reached a new level, the majority of which was focused on himself. He felt guilty for letting this happen in the first place, he was meant to make sure she was safe and he didn't. He knew if he said anything to anyone else they would disagree with him and his silence spoke volumes. He would find her though, he had to. That thought had been firmly set in place for over an hour now despite the fact he had still yielded no results.

Quiet footfalls behind him caught his attention and he silently waited to see what the person would do. He assumed it was Jane Doe because everyone else around here knew there was no need to be subtle around him. A throat cleared before a quiet voice hesitantly asked

"I hope you don't mind. I couldn't sleep and wanted some company"

He swivelled, sliding off his headphones as he sent a smile in her direction, replying "Sure."

A sigh escaped her as her weight creaked the desk slightly. She didn't sit on it though and he was grateful for that, it had always been Annie's space.

"Can I ask you something?" she said.

"Go ahead" he replied, giving her his full attention.

"Why is it you never look at me?"

He laughed, a full throaty chuckle, a feeling flowing through him that he hadn't felt in ages, as brief as the moment was.

"I'm Blind" he replied, waiting and sure enough…

"Oh, I am so sorry" she replied quickly, thinking back to the first time she had seen him and all the extra equipment it made perfect sense.

"Its fine, happens a lot" she smiled shyly at him, her cheeks tinged red in embarrassment.

"No problem. So how are you? This must all seem pretty strange to you" he asked.

"I'm…coping" she replied, causing another chuckle to leave his throat, accompanying hers.

"You must think we're all crazy around here"

"Yep, pretty much" this caused another round of laughter between the pair, this one slightly longer. For the first time since she disappeared he had a moment of thought without her in it and, as much as it pained him he was grateful for it. He felt his chest lighten slightly and he welcomed the feeling.

"It's nice to have someone to talk to" she said quietly.

"You're welcome in here anytime" he replied.

"There's something I should tell you" she said, voice barely above a whisper.

"Go ahead" he encouraged.

"I…I remembered something" she said and as she explained the memory of running through the forest, tears streaming down her face as she did so he embraced her and they held onto one another, silently sharing their feelings and comforting one another.

**A/N: Is anyone else excited about the premier of Intelligence tomorrow?**


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